Illinois Research Laboratory to Pay $100K in Retaliation Lawsuit Settlement

September 29, 2021

A federal agency charged in a lawsuit that an Illinois-based research organization denied promotion to female engineer after she complained about sex-based discrimination.

Fermi Research Alliance LLC (Fermi), a particle physics and accelerator laboratory in Batavia, Illinois, will pay $100,000 to resolve the retaliation lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency said.

According to the EEOC’s suit, EEOC v. Fermi Research Alliance LLC, Civil Action No. 18-cv-5486, Fermi violated federal law when they failed to promote a female engineer in retaliation for her complaint of sex-based discrimination.

Such alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which prohibits unlawful employment practices, including retaliation against an employee for making a discrimination complaint. The EEOC filed suit in the Northern District of Illinois after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process.

Besides the monetary relief, the 18-month consent decree entered by U.S. District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman, requires that Fermi display a posting regarding the resolution of the lawsuit to its employees, provide training on retaliation under Title VII to its employees, and make regular reports to the EEOC regarding its compliance with the decree.

Source: EEOC

Topics Lawsuits Illinois

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